SalesNote )
October 2009
In this issue
  • 5-Star Amazon Reviews!
  • Get 5 Rules for Free
  • Manage Your Sales Email
  • Hiring Sales Winners
  • Leadership Quote
  • The Next Generation

    I've seen the future and, while promising, it needs some work. Over recent months I've been training sales teams with many of the reps under the age of 35. (Everyone seems younger to me these days!)

    In training these teams I'm recognizing how far we are removed from the strategic and tactical selling fundamental days of the 80's and 90's. While eager, teachable and capable, there's a generation of salespeople out there operating under sales cliches that myths rather than clear-thinking sales methodologies, foundational principles and sound practices of selling excellence. Fortunately it's a fixable situation with plenty of upside.

    I'm encouraged by the response to the call for personal responsibility and professional sales organizational development. It bodes well for the next generational sales rep, manager and company. With guidance and direction in effective sales activities and modern application of proven frameworks and practices, new waves of sales professionals are gearing up for the challenges facing them.

    Indeed, the future always requires hard work and preparation. I see a world of promise and potential.


    5-Star Amazon Reviews!

    42 Sales Rules Book Receives 5-Star Reviews on Amazon.com

    MXL's Michael Griego's new book 42 Rules to Increase Sales Effectiveness is now available on Amazon.com. The reviews are coming in and they're 5-Star rated - Amazon's highest rating. Check them out. Click on the link below and get a copy for yourself, or if your a manager or executive, for yourself and your team!

    • "I would highly recommend those people that want to be top performers or are top performers read this book."
    • "This is a book in a class by itself as it provides the very process that is repeatable."
    • "...in a format that is very easy to read and understand."
    • "Whether you're a head of sales...or an individual contributor looking for a competitive edge, I recommend this book..."
    • "Just when I thought I'd seen it all, along comes a book that forces you to recognize how much better you can be."

    Get 5 Rules for Free

    Get 5 Rules for Free

    42 Rules publisher, Super Star Press, is sending out 5 Rules for Free of Mike's book 42 Rules to Increase Sales Effectiveness.

    Simply click on the Get 5 Rules button, register your email, and you will start receiving 1 Rule per week for 5 weeks. A great way to sample the book and even share with others.

    Manage Your Sales Email

    Manage Your Sale Email (book excerpt)

    We've all received the email from a salesperson that was too long or poorly written or both. Perhaps you've written a few like that yourself. With the intent of communicating salient points about a product or service, the writer gets carried away with valid content and information that supposedly will "sell" the product on merits and value. Or what about the use of email to follow up or communicate with prospects or customers throughout the sales cycle? What are some of the keys for using email for sales communications?

    I've always believed in the double whammy: the email and phone call, or the phone call and email. I've thought a lot about how I personally respond to salespeople. A salesperson would do well to send an email introducing me to what they are selling and then calling me. They should also leave me a crisp 20-40 Second Speech voice message linking their name to the email I received that day or even a couple days earlier. While there's no guarantee of a sale, their odds go up considerably in getting my attention.

    It's even more effective in getting me to remember them if their email incorporates the following three keys to email sales communications...

    Hiring Sales Winners

    Winning Sales Teams
    I see many new hires in sales organizations. I'm often asked for the profile of a top sales performer. I'm a believer in the fact that great salespeople can be developed, they are not simply born. Certainly some come to the table with natural gifts and talents, however much of the onus is on effective sales leadership. There's an opportunity to hire those with upside potential and for sales management to build, develop and create winning players and teams.

    The research (CSO Insights 2009 Sales Performance Report) shows that organizations make good hires (meet or exceed expectations) 50% of the time, and weak hires (need improvement) 45% of the time.

    I've seen salespeople falter for 3 reasons:

    • Weak sales skills set
    • Weak sales market opportunity
    • Weak sales management
    Some reps that "need improvement" would succeed under different sales management. In sports and in sales, there's a bell curve distribution of talent on any team. Some managers win championships; others others never make the playoffs.

    Are you building a winning sales organization?

    Leadership Quote

    Developing Your Team
    "The art of choosing men is not nearly so difficult as the art of enabling those one has chosen to attain their full worth." - Napoleon Bonaparte

    Quick Links...

    Phone: 650-279-3467
    Email Marketing by